Economy

Unlike many small rural towns across Wales, Newcastle Emlyn has managed to maintain a wide range of local services, based mainly on small family businesses. The town's largest employer is the Saputo factory which manufactures Mozzarella cheese using locally sourced dairy produce.

Demography

Up until the 1960s, 90% of the town's population was Welsh-speaking. According to the United Kingdom Census 2001, 69% of the 941 people who live within Newcastle Emlyn speak fluent Welsh.

Taken together with Adpar on the Ceredigion side of the river Teifi the area's total population is approximately 1,500 people.

The legend of Emlyn Wyvern

The entrance to King George's Field in Church Lane, Newcastle Emlyn, Carmarthenshire. Holy Trinity Church is in the background on the right.

The story of Gwiber Castell Newydd Emlyn (the Wyvern of Newcastle Emlyn) is a local tradition. It tells how on one of the fair days when the town was full of people a fierce winged viper called a wyvern breathing fire and smoke, alighted on the castle walls and having cast threatening glances around settled down to sleep. Its appearance on the castle at first brought terror to all but after the fear had died down a few brave townsfolk sought to destroy the fearsome monster.

A soldier devised the plan of wading the river Teifi to a point of vantage on the castle side and letting a red cloak float in the river and shooting the gwiber in a vulnerable under part of the body. The creature, so violently startled from its slumber, caught sight of the cloak and fell upon it with horrible shrieks and tore it to shreds. The assailant meanwhile, escaped to a place of safety.

The wyvern in its death throes turned onto its back and floated down the river. From its wound gushed forth a most loathsome venom which polluted the water and killed all the fish. The legend tells of the great joy of the townsfolk when they saw the monster dead.[2]